SINGAPORE — Referring to recent high profile cases involving religion or religious leaders, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam reiterated on Saturday (April 8) that no one is above the rule of law - whether he is a Minister, a Member of Parliament, a chief executive or a cleric.

Speaking at a youth forum on inter-religious peace and harmony in Singapore, Mr Shanmugam stressed that if found guilty of an offence, action will be taken “regardless of who you are”. He also underlined the importance of an independent judiciary to mete out befitting punishments.

In recent days, the court ruled on the appeal by six former City Harvest Church (CHC) leaders, who will be serving jail terms, while an imam was also fined and deported after he had made remarks against Christians and Jews at a sermon.

Echoing a point which he had made hours earlier when speaking to reporters about the CHC verdict, Mr Shanmugam noted that in such cases, the public should not be able to influence the outcome or tell the judiciary what to do, as it would undermine the independence of the judiciary. Should there be any disagreements, it is up to the authorities to consider what to do next. “That’s why there is a Parliament … to decide what the laws ought to be and whether the laws ought to change...(So) confidence is important, people must believe that there is the law and it will apply to anyone,” he said.

On the case involving the imam, Mr Shanmugam said that while Singapore allows people to practise their faith freely, one should not “run down” another religion or seek to promote any behaviour that would incite violence or hate against someone of a different religion or race. That would be an “absolute no-no” and action would be taken, said Mr Shanmugam, who emphasised that religious texts have to be preached under Singapore’s context.

Themed “Embracing Religious Diversity: Towards a Shared Future”, the youth forum was organised by Roses of Peace, an inter-faith initiative to promote peace. Held in collaboration with OnePeople.sg and Reach, some 180 youths from various associations, religious groups and institutes of higher learning attended the event.

Mr Shanmugam was also asked about his views on what difficult conversations Singapore needs to be having in terms of religious identity. In response, he cautioned against having a laissez-faire approach, and pointed to efforts in building a strong national identity based on tolerance and mutual respect, while being rooted in one’s own racial identity and culture.

But while the Government can “provide a framework and impetus” to support conversations about national identity, the onus falls on ground-up efforts and “idealistic young people to take the lead to make this work”.

Citing examples such as meritocracy and Singapore’s housing policy which integrates different races, he said: “All of these are not small things...It’s not just about shaking hands and being nice (to each other)...All the fundamental efforts have been built in by the Government framework, but...it’s a work in progress.”

At the same time, there are “strong centrifugal forces” given the rise of the Internet which could threaten to destabilise existing community ties by creating closed, insular communities and growing divisiveness, he warned.

For instance, one issue Singapore is grappling with is the prevalence of fake news. This could be news created by foreign agencies to break down Singapore’s psychological resilience and “weaken its defences”. On the other hand, others could put up fake news for financial gains by benefiting from an uncertain climate, or they could simply have an agenda in order to sell advertisements and stories.

“We have to deal with it, and we are looking at how other countries do it, and we will do what we can,” said Mr Shanmugam, who told Parliament earlier this week that the Government is mulling over this issue.

Among the other topics that were brought up at the event were, for example, how to cultivate a global outlook among youths, and promote national education among new citizens.